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	<title>B2B Bliss &#187; Reputation</title>
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	<link>http://blog.blisspr.com</link>
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		<title>PR in the Service Economy: Eight Ways to Build a B2B Reputation</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/pr-in-the-service-economy-eight-ways-to-build-a-b2b-reputation/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/pr-in-the-service-economy-eight-ways-to-build-a-b2b-reputation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:03:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Abby Carr</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial Services]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Media Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Services]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=2537</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you doing PR for a B2B company that provides a service? Yes, that means you, all lawyers, consultants, financial advisors, asset managers, software developers and search firms. In fact more than half of the US GDP has come from services companies since 1982 , which is why marketing intangibles is a critical skill in our world.    ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Are you doing PR for a B2B company that provides a service?  Yes, that means you, all lawyers, consultants, financial advisors, asset managers, software developers and search firms.  In fact <a href="http://captaincapitalism.blogspot.com/2007/04/manufacturing-vs-services-as-of-gdp.html">more than half of the US GDP has come from services companies since 1982 </a>, which is why marketing intangibles is a critical skill in our world.   </p>
<p>Last week, I had the opportunity to make a presentation to the <a href="http://www.prsastlouis.org/Homepage.aspx">St. Louis chapter of PRSA </a>on this topic – which is based on multiple conversations with my fellow <a href="http://www.blisspr.com/index.php">BlissPR</a> colleagues about how we help our clients achieve their business goals. </p>
<p>B2B service companies are great clients because they stretch us to come up with a clear vantage point on technical and often<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2541" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Untitled-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a> enterprise level matters.   But they can also be tough clients because they are very busy, as well as risk averse and slow to adopt change.   When we are faced with creating a new campaign, here are some of the things we think about to get out of the traditional “lather, rinse, repeat” kind of PR.  Here is what I said in St. Louis – what have I missed?  (Want to make sure you see this, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/tressalynne">@tressalynne</a>)</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Raise the Altitude</strong>.  First, get up above product.  If you are discussing the features and benefits of what the company sells, you won’t get the audience’s full attention.  It’s like looking at photos of someone else’s kids.  Find out what the audience truly cares about, and focus on that.  Here’s a great example of a major financial company surfacing the issues of concern to its customers, who are heads of HR:  <a href="http://www.metlife.com/business/insights-and-tools/industry-knowledge/employee-benefits-trends-study/index.html#highlights">MetLife&#8217;s 8th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Carve out an Issue to Own</strong>.  Second, don’t be afraid to make an idea the hero of the moment.  The idea can be an issue, a trend, a topic area – think “privacy” or “motivation” or “risk” or “capital flows” &#8212; but it’s not the product.  Then build a microsite or a blog or a strong point of view around that.  We have seen consulting firms take this tack, and predict that corporations will do so as well.  </li>
<li><strong>Be of Service to the Communities you Care About</strong>.  What does your client know that can help the communities that they serve?   How can you help them do their own business better?  Often, research, benchmark data, opinion, counsel can be packaged in a way that galvanizes decision-making.  Here’s an example: <a href="http://www.bdo.com/resource/documents/2009RetailSurveyCFOs.pdf">BDO&#8217;s Retail Survey</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Enter the Ongoing Conversation</strong>. If your client is discussing a topic that matters, and has a point of view or research that extends the conversation, then you better be finding the right dialogues, and the people (bloggers) who are influencing them.  <a href="http://addictomatic.com/">Addict-o-matic</a> is a great way to find them. </li>
<li><strong>Learn to Share.</strong>  Once you have created your content, deliver it in many forms and formats.  SMPRs, video, data nuggets, how to advice, predictions.   And don’t be afraid to partner with a media outlet to deliver all that content goodness.  Here’s an example of what we mean:  <a href="http://pitch.pe/45882">Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com/Hay Group Study Identifies Best Companies for Leadership. </a></li>
<li><strong>Don’t Hog the Microphone.</strong>  When your client is the only one talking –even if he or she is the smartest person in the room, it’s less interesting than if you invite other voices in to the discussion.  Open it up and more people will listen.    That’s what they found at <a href="http://whatmatters.mckinseydigital.com/">McKinsey’s whatmatters microsite</a>.   </li>
<li><strong>Get Local.</strong>  If there’s a national trend – movement of some kind, whether it’s a rule change, a regulation, legislation – there will likely be local fallout.  Capture it!  People care about changes and problems happening in their own backyards, and are more likely to pick up the phone and call someone in their own area for help.</li>
<li><strong>Build Your own Community.</strong>  In the old days, we used trade media to reach niche markets.  Not so much anymore.  Plus niche markets are getting nichier.  Sometimes you find them, sometimes you have to help your clients create them.  So if it’s CFOs of Canadian natural resources companies, or hospital facilities managers in the southwest, or <a href="http://www.newtbdrugs.org/index.php">med students who care about TB</a>,  or meeting planners for financial services companies, sometimes it’s easiest to build your own audience.  </li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p>That’s what I came up with – what steps would you add? <a href="http://www.prsastlouis.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/PastPrograms.aspx" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see the full deck or feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:abby@blisspr.com">abby@blisspr.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong>To reach Abby:</strong></p>
<p>Phone: 212.840.0088<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:abby@blisspr.com">abby@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/abbycarr">@abbycarr<br />
</a>LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/abbycarr" target="_blank">Abby Carr</a></p>


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		<title>How can professional services PR firms build client loyalty?</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/how-can-professional-services-pr-firms-build-client-loyalty/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/how-can-professional-services-pr-firms-build-client-loyalty/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:31:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Aven James</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=2484</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a professional services public relations firm, client satisfaction is something we think about on a daily basis.  We want to be sure we’re providing quality client service and that, as a result, our clients are “happy.”  However, in his book “If Disney Ran Your Hospital,” Fred Lee raises an important point: it is customer loyalty, not mere satisfaction that binds clients to an organization and protects it against serious competition.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.blisspr.com/practice_areas/professional.php">As a professional services public relations firm</a>, client satisfaction is something we think about on a daily basis.  We want to be sure we’re providing quality client service and that, as a result, our clients are “happy.”  However, in his book “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Ran-Your-Hospital-Differently/dp/0974386014">If Disney Ran Your Hospital</a>,” Fred Lee raises an important point: it is customer <em>loyalty</em>, not mere satisfaction that binds clients<a href="http://www.theusbroker.com/images/loyalty_rewards_dog.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2489" title="loyalty_rewards_dog" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/loyalty_rewards_dog-250x300.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a> to an organization and protects it against serious competition.</p>
<p>Lee cites an article from the <em><a href="http://hbr.org/">Harvard Business Review</a></em> on customer loyalty in which the authors presented research showing that satisfied customers are not necessarily loyal.  Writes Lee: “on a scale of one to five [one being very unsatisfied and five  being very satisfied], a customer who marks a four is six times more likely to defect than a customer who marks a five.  In other words, there is a six-fold increase in customer loyalty between fours and fives.”  While Lee is examining patient/employee satisfaction and loyalty in hospitals, the implication for our industry is clear: loyalty is critical to the security of client-agency relationships – and therefore, it’s essential that we understand the distinction between satisfaction and loyalty. </p>
<p>So, how can professional services PR firms build client <em>loyalty</em>?</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Deliver quality work</strong>:  If your clients are not satisfied, they’re definitely not going to feel loyal to your organization.  Therefore, client satisfaction is a logical precursor to client loyalty.  While it might sound like common sense, it’s critical that you’re responsive to your clients and consistently provide quality work in a timely manner.</li>
<li><strong>Anticipate your clients’ needs</strong>:  If you’re successfully delivering quality work, your clients are likely satisfied, but are they yet loyal?  Anticipating clients’ needs is an important step in moving from a four to a five on the client satisfaction scale – and making you an invaluable marketing partner.  According to Lee, “loyalty is generated by memorable things that happen that we didn’t expect.”  So, ask yourself: are you maintaining the status quo, or are you creating memorable moments by going “above and beyond;” consistently staying one step ahead of your clients and anticipating their needs, so they don’t have to.</li>
<li><strong>Know your clients’ business</strong>:  In order to successfully anticipate your clients’ needs, you have to know their business, inside and out.  In a recent discussion with <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/dallaskersey">Dallas Kersey</a>, former director of marketing at Towers Perrin and Edward Jones, he said the number one thing PR professionals can do to make themselves invaluable to their clients is to think of themselves as business professionals first, PR professionals second.  That is, “know your clients’ business.”  As Lee notes in his book, “doing everything to perfection…meeting all [of your clients’] standards of performance and courtesy” is not enough to build client loyalty.  As PR professionals, in order to build client loyalty, we must understand how everything we do fits into our clients’ overall marketing strategy and ultimately, how that’s tied to the company’s bottom line.  Without that understanding, you cannot cross the line from “outside agency” to true marketing partner.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>These are just a few of the ways that you can work toward building loyalty.  What else would you add to this list?</p>
<p><strong>To reach Aven:</strong></p>
<p>Phone: 212.840.1661<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:aven@blisspr.com">aven@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/avenlea">@avenlea</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/aven-james/a/5a5/302">Aven James</a></p>


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		<title>11 Reasons Why Big Law Should Experiment with Social Media (Part 2)</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/11-reasons-why-big-law-should-experiment-with-social-media-part-2/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:57:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Sosnow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Services]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday I shared my first five reasons why large law firms should evaluate if social media can play a part in their marketing strategy…here are six other reasons to consider it:]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/11-reasons-why-big-law-should-experiment-with-social-media-part-1/#content" target="_blank">Yesterday</a> I shared my first five reasons why large law firms should evaluate if social media can play a part in their marketing strategy…here are six other reasons to consider it:</p>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Understand demographics</span>:  A <a href="http://legalwatercoolerblog.com/2010/05/20/corporate-counsel-read-blogs-who-knew/">recent study</a> of Corporate Counsel noted that 37% of the 30-39 year old age<img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2434" title="Spaceball1" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Spaceball1.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> group had used Facebook in the past 24 hours and 48% have used it professionally in the past week. Do not forget that your senior partners – and their contacts – will retire sooner than you might think. Marketing will not always stay the same, even if you really, really want it to.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Harness LinkedIn</span>:  There are probably more lawyers on this network than any other group combined. Your firm needs a profile and your partners need to take advantage of the networking opportunities, which will only increase over time.</li>
<li> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Deploy a targeted Search Engine Optimization (SEO) pilot</span>: <a href="http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/12/22/9-best-practices-for-attorneys-using-facebook/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InsideFacebook+%28Inside+Facebook%29">Your attorneys may not want to leap onto Facebook</a>, but almost anyone is interested in the efficiency of their website traffic. What kinds of visitors come to the site? How long do they stay? What kind of content moves them to action? Take a look at what your Google Analytics are trying to tell you, then pick an important practice as a test case. Create content, deploy the right keywords and see if the traffic grows – that will get the attention of more than a few within the firm.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Improve your alumni and recruiting efforts</span>: If you are a large firm, this is likely to be where you have a social media investment, if you’ve made one at all. Are they just a group you send information “at,” or are you building a genuine community?</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Harvest analytics from every place you can find them</span>: Email blasts, websites, search engine rankings and social networks each offer law firms a chance to finally analyze and “own” quantitative marketing information. Seize it!</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Leverage legal marketing resources</span>: There are lots of great thinkers in this space – set up a Google Reader so you can listen in. Some of my favorites are <a href="http://virtualmarketingofficer.com/2010/04/too-busy-for-marketing-tap-into-your-social-web-communities/">Jane Navarre</a>, <a href="http://legalwatercoolerblog.com/about/biography/">Heather Milligan</a>, <a href="http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/">Nancy Myrland</a>, <a href="http://adriandayton.com/2010/05/inside-the-mind-of-in-house-counsel/">Adrian Dayton</a> and <a href="http://kevin.lexblog.com/2010/03/articles/large-law/state-of-the-amlaw-200-blogosphere-march-2010/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KevinOKeefe%2FRealLawyersHaveBlogs+%28Real+Lawyers+Have+Blogs%29">Kevin O’Keefe</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p>I’ve spent most of my career thinking about public relations for law firms…Now I wonder if I’ll spend the rest of my career thinking about social media for law firms? What about you?</p>
<p><strong>To reach Elizabeth:</strong></p>
<p>Phone:  212.840.0017<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:elizabeth@blisspr.com">elizabeth@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethsosnow">@elizabethsosnow</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsosnow">Elizabeth Sosnow</a></p>


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		<title>11 Reasons Why Big Law Should Experiment with Social Media (Part 1)</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/11-reasons-why-big-law-should-experiment-with-social-media-part-1/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/11-reasons-why-big-law-should-experiment-with-social-media-part-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:53:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Sosnow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Public Relations]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Professional Services]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=2424</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently gave a “Social Media 101” presentation to the marketing team of one of the world’s largest law firms. To be candid, I wasn’t sure if I’d have any believers at the end of the presentation.  That’s because there are very few stories of Fortune 500 General Counsels awarding large matters based on a thoughtful Twitter feed.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently gave a “Social Media 101” presentation to the marketing team of one of the world’s largest law firms. To be candid, I wasn’t sure if I’d have any believers at the end of the presentation.  That’s because there are very few stories of Fortune 500 General Counsels awarding large matters based on a thoughtful Twitter feed.</p>
<p>After all, most attorneys market in order to do one thing: identify new business “leads.” But that’s not the only reason to develop an online marketing strategy.  What about positioning key practices as leaders on client sector trends?  Is it important to strengthen the firm’s brand equity in emerging markets? Can we extend the life of our<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/4720909929/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2427" title="Spaceballa" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Spaceballa.jpg" alt="" width="101" height="150" /></a> current thought leadership with a new distribution system?</p>
<p>In short, you can. Here’s a copy of the <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/elizabethsosnow/why-should-biglaw-do-social-media-4636557?from=share_email" target="_blank">presentation</a>, if you’d like a deeper dive:</p>
<p>In the meantime, here are my first 5 tips for getting started:</p>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Recognize that you don’t have to start by getting “social:”</span> While it may be sacrilegious to say, it’s possible to derive a huge amount of value from social media without ever becoming, well, social. Instead, think of it as your firm’s competitive intelligence engine.  You have an opportunity to gain sector, competitor and client market insights – why would you pass that up?</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Benchmark and compare trends over time:</span> What happens if you check once and your competitor hasn’t entered the space? Does that mean they never will? Of course not. 96 of the AmLaw 200 are now <a href="http://virtualmarketingofficer.com/2010/03/build-a-blog-build-a-law-practice-one-lawyers-journey/">blogging</a>…only 39 were in August 2007. Keep gathering data to guide your marketing decisions and investments.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Evaluate aspirational marketing leaders:</span> Large law firms know how to do many things well, from attracting laterals to extending global scope. But it’s still possible to learn from smaller firms who can sometimes be more nimble and almost certainly have been experimenting longer. Don’t make marketing decisions based on what your exact peers are doing. It’s short-sighted.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Construct early warning systems</span>:  You already have Google Alerts set up to monitor your partners, practices and peers. Take it a step further and look for comments on blogs and message boards.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Think small</span>: Somewhere in your firm there are emerging rainmakers that have the trust of senior partners. They are already essential in critical deals, they have keen insights about the direction of their marketplace and they are hungry for advancement. To top it off, they have a little more time than your major rainmakers. Why not let them experiment with some targeted engagement on a network such as <a href="http://legalonramp.com/">Legal OnRamp</a>?</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p>Tomorrow I’ll give you six more reasons to consider if social media has a place for your law firm. But what would you add to the list so far?</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>To reach Elizabeth:</strong></p>
<p>Phone:  212.840.0017<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:elizabeth@blisspr.com">elizabeth@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethsosnow">@elizabethsosnow</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsosnow">Elizabeth Sosnow</a></p>


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		<title>Finding B2B Social Media Tools That Add Value – not Just Time</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/finding-b2b-social-media-tools-that-add-value-%e2%80%93-not-just-time/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/finding-b2b-social-media-tools-that-add-value-%e2%80%93-not-just-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:38:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Sosnow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=2340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We’ve all seen the signs: shaky fingers, bleary eyes, achy wrists and plain old sleep deprivation. You or your colleague may be suffering from a significant case of Social Media Tool Exhaustion. And the more time you spend online, the more likely you are to suffer relapses.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We’ve all seen the signs: shaky fingers, bleary eyes, achy wrists and plain old sleep deprivation. You or your colleague may be suffering from a significant case of Social Media Tool Exhaustion. And the more time you spend online, the more likely you are to suffer relapses.</p>
<p>“But I need to stay on top of emerging trends,” I hear you say. “This next tool might be the key to a<a href="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/220265100_591b0a527ca.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2349" title="220265100_591b0a527ca" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/220265100_591b0a527ca.jpg" alt="" width="113" height="150" /></a> successful digital PR campaign.” It’s true &#8212; online engagement analysis is not for the weak of heart. But I tried to offer some hope during a May presentation in Shanghai to the <a href="http://www.worldcomgroup.com/">Worldcom Public Relations Group</a>, the world&#8217;s leading network of independently owned public relations firms:</p>
<p>My 7 Best Practices for Social Media Tool Adoption:</p>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Understand your assessment context before you begin</span>. Why do you want to test the tool? To help your staff? Outwit your competitors? Give a boost to a marketing campaign?</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Pick 2 tools to experiment with at a time</span>: You’ll wind up discarding over 50% of these tools, ultimately, but you need to keep experimenting and “churning.”</li>
<li> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Read “tool master” reviews to give you a sense of the pros and cons</span>: Insights from smart people like <a href="http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/">Jason Falls</a> help make my job easier.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Use colleagues to divide and conquer analysis: </span>If you work for a PR agency, please don’t make the mistake of delegating this work to your junior staff. Senior PR practitioners need to understand how these tools fit within a larger marketing strategy.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Find online buddies who are having fun with the tool</span>: It may not be your idea of giggles, but you still need to develop an educated opinion on why the tool is attracting attention, anyway.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Discard tools relatively quickly if you aren’t finding value</span>: There’s always an emerging tool to replace a dud. But don’t assume that you can rule a tool out forever, the playing field can change instantaneously with the right upgrade.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Protect clients and employers by waiting to share tools until you are sure they are worth the time</span>: Tools are the last “stop.” Start with <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Consulting/POST">Forrester’s POST approach</a>, and fold the tools in later.</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p>Take a peek at my <a href="http://vimeo.com/12278643" target="_blank">20 minute speech</a> if you’d like to hear more about the tools I use daily to support our own digital PR strategy, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://feedera.com/digest/login/">Feedera</a>: bundles your friends’ “most shared” Twitter content daily</li>
<li><a href="http://bit.ly/">Bit.ly</a>: offers a metrics dashboard to understand if your content excites people</li>
<li><a href="http://www.backtype.com/">Backtype</a>: flags keywords in blog comments</li>
<li>Google Reader: organizes your RSS feeds, but has the potential to be your top competitive intelligence tool</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wordtracker.com/">Wordtracker</a>: identifies “starting point” keywords without the cost of an SEO</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf" width="550" height="364"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf"/><param name="flashvars" value="clip_id=12278643&amp;color=00adef&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;show_title=1"/></object></p>
<p><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/elizabethsosnow/social-media-tools-speech-for-shanghai-worldcom" target="_blank">This presentation also shares</a> the tools and networks that I’m experimenting with: </p>
<ul>
<li>LinkedIn: Realize that “sleeping beauty” is waking up and has real potential for B2B companies</li>
<li><a href="http://foursquare.com/">Foursquare</a>: Understand how acquiring audience location data could impact your marketing strategy</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flowtown.com/">Flowtown</a>: Mine social data from your email address list</li>
<li><a href="http://authoritylabs.com/">Authority Labs</a>: Track search engine positioning for your site’s critical keywords</li>
<li><a href="http://mobiready.com/launch.jsp?locale=en_EN">MobiReady</a>: assess if your site is ready for mobile use</li>
<li>Flickr: use visual tags to get lots of Google “love” </li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Did I stop your “shakes?” How do you solve Social Media Tool Exhaustion?</p>
<p>P.S. My time in Shanghai wasn’t all work. Head over to my Flickr account to see a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blisspr" target="_blank">few pictures</a> of our visit or to YouTube to see a couple of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/blisspr" target="_blank">video clips</a> of my favorite pavilions at the World Expo.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>To reach Elizabeth:</strong></p>
<p>Phone:  212.840.0017<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:elizabeth@blisspr.com">elizabeth@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethsosnow">@elizabethsosnow</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsosnow">Elizabeth Sosnow</a></p>


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		<title>To partner, or not to partner? Social media strategies for traditional media initiatives</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/to-partner-or-not-to-partner-social-media-strategies-for-traditional-media-initiatives/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 19 May 2010 12:55:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Aven James</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Public Relations]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=2270</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How many times have you weighed the pros and cons of partnering with a traditional media outlet to conduct a survey? As B2B marketers, we know the benefits and drawbacks: partnerships come with a guaranteed media placement, the added credibility of the outlet’s brand and, often, access to a publication’s subscription lists.  ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>How many times have you weighed the pros and cons of partnering with a traditional media outlet to conduct a survey? As B2B marketers, we know the benefits and drawbacks: partnerships come with a guaranteed media placement, the added credibility of the outlet’s brand and, often, access to a publication’s subscription lists. However, partnering with a publication limits the ability to leverage the survey results with other media outlets.  Or at least it did.</p>
<p>Social media has changed the way we develop and implement marketing and PR programs, and in doing so, has influenced the question: “to partner, or not to partner?” Today, traditional media partnerships can provide excellent content for social media campaigns. Partnerships now present an entry point, not a barrier, to additional<a href="http://adultedmatters.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/handshake3.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2277" title="handshake3a" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/handshake3a.jpg" alt="handshake3a" width="150" height="113" /></a> coverage and ultimately, awareness for your brand and/or product.</p>
<p>A recent study by client <a href="http://www.haygroup.com/ww/index.aspx">Hay Group</a> (a global management consulting firm) shows how traditional media partnerships can fuel social media campaign success.<strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Study: <em><a href="http://haygroup.com/ww/best_companies/index.aspx?id=156">Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com/Hay Group Best Companies for Leadership Study</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Strategy</strong>: Partnering with an online outlet gave us the opportunity to develop a robust, proactive social media campaign to extend coverage beyond <em><a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/02/0216_best_places_for_leadership/index.htm?chan=careers_special+report+--+best+places+for+interns+2010">Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com</a></em> and drive additional traffic to Hay Group’s website. As part of that strategy, we:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=45882">Developed a social media press release (SMPR)</a></strong>: We used <a href="http://www.pitchengine.com/" target="_blank">Pitchengine.com</a> to create a release that included video interviews with Hay Group’s consultants, pull-out data points from the study, an easy to “re-tweet” Twitter pitch, links to coverage of the study on <em>Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com</em>, and access to other relevant resources. Be forewarned – producing an SMPR can be time-consuming, but the result is a more comprehensive and exciting way to share your information. And, it’s more conducive to sharing online via Twitter, LinkedIn, blog comments, etc. It also can be a useful marketing tool to include in email campaigns, webinars and other marketing communications. </li>
<li><strong>Conducted targeted outreach to leadership and HR bloggers: </strong>As Kevin Briody notes in his post <a href="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/116560">The Very Basics of Blogger Outreach</a>, the first step to conducting blogger outreach is to identify the right bloggers – and get to know them. There’s a <a href="http://www.noop.nl/2010/04/top-150-management-leadership-blogs.html">robust community of bloggers</a> discussing management and leadership issues that we were able to engage before, during and after the Best Companies for Leadership study was released. If you’re looking for bloggers who reach your target audience, there are a number of tools that will help you identify them, including <a href="http://alltop.com/">Alltop</a>, <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/">Google Blog Search</a> and <a href="http://technorati.com/">Technorati</a>, to name a few.</li>
<li><strong>Initiated an awareness/engagement campaign on Twitter: </strong>As with blogger outreach, to effectively use Twitter to reach online influencers you must identify the right people and engage them. It’s critical that you’ve built your followers <em>before</em> you launch your social media campaign. <a href="http://twitter.com/adamholdenbache">Adam Holden-Bache</a> provides <a href="http://socialmediab2b.com/2010/05/b2b-twitter-audience/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SocialMediaB2b+%28Social+Media+B2B%29">6 useful steps to find your B2B audience on Twitter</a> in his post on <a href="http://socialmediab2b.com/">Social Media B2B</a>.<strong> </strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Results</strong>: There are many ways to measure the impact of social media marketing, all of which should be based on a specific set of objectives, goals and tactics identified for your specific campaign. Below are a few metrics that we used to gauge the success of our campaign. Within the first month of the launch:</p>
<ul>
<li>The SMPR had been viewed <strong>more than 1,800 times</strong>, <strong>cited in</strong> <strong>more than 30 blogs </strong>(including <a href="http://muzeleadership.blogspot.com/2010/02/strategic-leadership.html">On Leadership</a>, <a href="http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/">Leading Blog</a>, <a href="http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2010/02/21/22110-leadership-reading-to-start-your-week.aspx">Three Star Leadership</a> and <a href="http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2010/02/bloomberg-businessweekcomhay-group.html">Great Leadership</a>, among others) and <strong>“Tweeted” by more than 350 people (with 356,650+ combined followers)</strong> </li>
<li>The ten leadership stories that appeared in the “Best Companies for Leadership” special section on the <em>Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com </em>were among <strong>the top five most-clicked stories on <em>BusinessWeek.com</em></strong> for a few weeks post-launch</li>
<li>Hay Group’s website received a boost in traffic, with <strong>more than 2,926 visits in the first 24 hours</strong> alone (a huge increase over average traffic)</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>There are many ways that traditional PR initiatives can be leveraged through social media. What tactics have you used?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>To reach Aven:</strong></p>
<p>Phone: 212.840.1661<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:aven@blisspr.com">aven@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/avenlea">@avenlea</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/aven-james/a/5a5/302">Aven James</a></p>


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		<title>Where to start: How Can In-House Marketers Leverage Social Media for Their Thought Leaders?</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/where-to-start-how-can-in-house-marketers-leverage-social-media-for-their-thought-leaders/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/where-to-start-how-can-in-house-marketers-leverage-social-media-for-their-thought-leaders/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:04:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Sosnow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=2193</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever tried to catch your shadow? You twist and turn, but the shadow keeps pace with you. I know a few people who can do that, too.   

It takes time, but skilled internal marketers understand how to shadow their business leaders. You anticipate needs, accommodate schedules, minimize disasters, coax ideas and frame business strategies.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Have you ever tried to catch your shadow? You twist and turn, but the shadow keeps pace with you. I know a few people who can do that, too.  </p>
<p>It takes time, but skilled internal marketers understand how to shadow their business leaders. You anticipate needs, accommodate schedules, minimize disasters, coax ideas and frame business strategies.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/179279964/" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2199" title="179279964_8e0675c135a" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/179279964_8e0675c135a.jpg" alt="179279964_8e0675c135a" width="150" height="92" /></a></p>
<p>Now you have a new challenge to conquer: helping your leaders leverage their individual and collective online presence.  This is especially tricky since your “client” may not have the time (or desire!) to start or join a conversation. The logical solution is potentially uncomfortable – the “shadow” has to step into the sunlight. You need to establish your own digital presence.</p>
<p>This feels uncomfortable for many, but you have both an opportunity and an obligation to help pave the way. </p>
<ol>
<li>Understand that this activity is an extension of what you are already doing…establishing and building the company brand</li>
<li>You can’t ignore the “social” in social media…and it’s entirely possible that your thought leader wants to</li>
<li>As a marketer, you can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Your counsel depends on intimately understanding  opportunities and challenges in this landscape</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p>So where do you start?</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Identify 3 Google Analytics benchmarks from your site: </span>Share them with your thought leaders to help them focus on an achievable traffic objective. Aggressively gauge how the traffic changes.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Develop a warning system</span>: Use Google Alerts, <a href="http://addictomatic.com/">Addictomatic</a>, RSS of competitor blog feeds, Backtype and <a href="http://www.boardtracker.com/">Board Tracker</a> for your firm’s keywords. Note: marketing teams must divide and conquer this responsibility.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Monitor existing conversation and turn it into actionable insight</span>: Social Mention can help you listen. What’s being said now? Does it benefit your sector? How can it help your thought leader advance his or her cause?</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bulk up your own presence on LinkedIn</span>: It’s not just a pile of resumes, it’s a living set of contacts that are pre-disposed towards your colleague’s content. Look beyond your personal connections to identify Q&amp;A’s and relevant groups. Learn what matters to them. Reach out and engage, using your key words as an entry “trigger.” Incorporate that intelligence into your marketing strategy.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Establish your own Twitter feed – a company Twitter feed is not enough</span>: Recent stats indicate that Twitter users share more than almost any other community. But most are more likely to respond to a person who engages. Your boss may not have time to tweet, so you’ll have to compensate for that with your own tweeting.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Comment on Influencer blogs in your sector</span>: You may need to jump start attention for your thought leader. If you feel uncomfortable making a comment yourself, don’t let that deter you from methodically reviewing blogs for opportunities for others to comment. This is the single most important way to build traffic for your company’s blog and/or website.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Understand if your links resonate</span>: Bitly and Tweetreach make this easy. Now take the time to compare and contrast what kinds of content yield a higher response from your audience. Regularly share your findings with your business line leaders.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Measure your success</span>: New dashboards like <a href="http://www.swixhq.com/SWIX.html">Swix</a> offers unified social media metrics like blog traffic, subscribers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, YouTube subscribers. This is also the easiest way to quickly give a leader a snapshot of activity.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Make it easy on yourself</span>: Nutshell Mail brings your social media activity to you in a handy email that saves your time for other projects. Feedera shows you what content matters most to your friends and/or audience.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s a battle for most internal marketing leaders to develop a personal brand. But, last time I checked, shadows look best in direct sunlight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>To reach Elizabeth:</strong></p>
<p>Phone:  212.840.0017<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:elizabeth@blisspr.com">elizabeth@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethsosnow">@elizabethsosnow</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsosnow">Elizabeth Sosnow</a></p>


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		<title>Top 10 Hurdles to Becoming a B2B Thought Leader…and the Secrets to Overcoming Them</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/top-10-hurdles-to-becoming-a-b2b-thought-leader%e2%80%a6and-the-secrets-to-overcoming-them/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/top-10-hurdles-to-becoming-a-b2b-thought-leader%e2%80%a6and-the-secrets-to-overcoming-them/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:50:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Sosnow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=1833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As I write this post, there are over 280 people who claim to be “thought leaders” in their Twitter biography. It’s certainly a popular label, but I’m pretty certain they haven’t all earned the title.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As I write this post, there are over 280 people who claim to be “thought leaders” in their Twitter biography. It’s certainly a popular label, but I’m pretty certain they haven’t all earned the title.<img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1841" title="463610938_c627cea61da" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/463610938_c627cea61da.jpg" alt="463610938_c627cea61da" width="150" height="94" /></p>
<p>Why? In the 20 years I’ve spent helping clients develop content, I’ve noticed a critical (though perhaps blindingly obvious) fact. It’s pretty hard to become a thought leader. The hurdles include:</p>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Analysis Paralysis</span>: Your need to make something perfect essentially dooms the project.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Competitive Distractions</span>: You are so focused on a competitor that you ignore your prospects.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Junior Partner Syndrome</span>: You don’t believe your ideas are good enough.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Calendar before Content</span>: You keep waiting for the right moment…that never comes.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Peer Review Ricochet</span>: You need approval from an internal cast of thousands.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Your Idea is About You</span>: Your audience is somehow supposed to “make the bridge” to why it matters to them.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">You Make an Assumption About Your Audience</span>: But your audience doesn’t agree with it.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Burning Wo/Man</span>: You’ve been burned before. (Gentle reminder: That makes you exactly like every great thinker.)</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">No ‘So What</span>:’ Your topic lacks differentiation, making it easy to ignore.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coitus Interruptus</span>: Your observations don’t build towards an actionable climax.</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/six-tips-to-jumpstart-your-thought-leadership/#content">But you can jump over these hurdles</a>. Here’s how:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Get granular</span>: Steer away from giant sized fears and focus on small do-able projects that build your confidence.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2010/02/competitive-intelligence-data-sources-best-practices.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OccamsRazorByAvinash+(Occam%27s+Razor+by+Avinash+Kaushik)">Get Factual</a></span>: Nothing beats hyperbole better than cold hard facts. Use research to cut through the emotional clutter.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://emergentbydesign.com/2009/11/09/36-awesome-idea-hubs-to-spark-creative-thinking-innovation-inspiration/">Get Creative</a></span>: There is another way to accomplish your objective. Circle until you find it.</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Get off your High Horse</span>: Compromise. Is there a study you can do to round out your hypothesis or an article you can co-author with a credible third party?</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>When all else fails, <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/11/10/evolution-the-eight-stages-of-listening/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WebStrategyByJeremiah+(Web+Strategy+by+Jeremiah)">listen</a>. The best thought leaders start by reflecting on the wisdom of others.</p>
<p>Have you encountered another hurdle for this list? How do you jump them?</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>To reach Elizabeth:</strong></p>
<p>Phone:  212.840.0017 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:elizabeth@blisspr.com">elizabeth@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethsosnow">@elizabethsosnow</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsosnow">Elizabeth Sosnow</a></p>


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		<title>On pedants and dilettantes, gurus and gravitas</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/on-pedants-and-dilettantes-gurus-and-gravitas/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/on-pedants-and-dilettantes-gurus-and-gravitas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:46:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Abby Carr</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Accounting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law Firms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=1665</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had the opportunity last week to visit with a friend from college whom I had not seen in 25+ years. We had a nice visit in his Park Avenue office, learned that our companies employ roughly the same number of people, and that we market in very much the same way.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I had the opportunity last week to visit with a friend from college, <a href="http://www.sonenshinepartners.com/teampages/marshallsonenshine.htm" target="_blank">Marshall Sonenshine</a>, whom I had not seen in 25+ years. We had a nice visit in his Park Avenue office, learned that our companies employ roughly the same number of people, and that we market in very much the same way. Both service businesses, they depend on the learnings and experience of the people who run them. The big difference? He’s in <a href="http://www.sonenshinepartners.com/about.htm" target="_blank">investment banking</a>, and I am in public relations. So he gets paid more… but that’s apart from the topic at hand.<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1692" title="yoda" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/yoda1-300x300.jpg" alt="yoda" width="300" height="300" /></p>
<p>When I asked him how he markets his firm, he said, “I run a boutique investment bank. Clients come here for two reasons. First, they have a connection, a preexisting relationship with someone at the firm or someone who has been a client, and they see us as a firm they want representing them. Second, they are open to using a boutique instead of a big bank, because of the ‘care’ factor, the quality of the work, and the absence of conflicts.” In other words, if they don’t already know him or his firm, and if they don’t already have a predisposition to working with a boutique, then they may well not bother, and that’s fine with him.   </p>
<p>His comment reminded me that in many cases, services – professional services and financial services alike – are reasonably indistinguishable if seen from the outside. As my colleague and mentor <a href="http://www.blisspr.com/about_us/team/johnb.php">John Bliss</a> has said, “Companies that buy a service are looking for one thing – a <a href="http://www.blisspr.com/about_us/thought_leadership/full_articles/ps_service_marketing.php">predictable outcome</a>.” An error-free audit from a CPA firm, a successful trial from a law firm, a brilliant candidate from an executive search firm. Or, from my friend’s firm, a strategic and profitable merger.</p>
<p>Because services are delivered by people, they don’t offer the predictability of products. That makes experience the key to the buying decision. And, in my opinion, thought leadership – writing, talking, speaking, blogging about the person’s area of expertise in stories, examples and observations – is the best way to communicate the individual’s expertise, as well as his or her care factor. </p>
<p>Monday, Gartner issued a <a href="http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=111853">press release</a> titled: “Once the reserve of Large Consultancy Firms, Thought Leadership Is Rapidly Becoming an Established Field Within Marketing.” In the <a href="http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=clientFriendlyUrl&amp;id=1269713">report</a>,  Gartner stated that:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&#8220;An organized discipline of Thought Leadership Marketing (what they short-hand “TLM”) is only now emerging, allowing marketers to use this as a manageable tool to <a href="http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=111853" target="_top">drive business</a>. Gartner defines TLM as the giving — for free or at a nominal charge — of <strong><em>information or advice that a client will value so as to create awareness of the outcome that a company’s product or service can deliver, in order to position and differentiate that offering and stimulate demand for it.&#8221; </em></strong>(emphasis mine)<strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&#8220;Its essence is to show, rather than tell what a company can do, and to do so in a way that positions and differentiates that company’s offering for the chosen <a href="http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=111853" target="_top">target audience</a>.&#8221; </p>
<p>In my opinion, thought leadership for professional and financial service firms – as opposed to IT companies &#8211;  is less about differentiating and educating, and more about showcasing wisdom and reassuring the target that the desired outcomes are likely. </p>
<p>In fact, very few service companies – only those who are investing a new category, or introducing a new methodology or tool – need to spend a ton of time educating. Most of us know what search firms and law firms and investment banks do. But in the trifecta of B2B service marketing – the brand, the service and the people – it’s the people, and their wisdom, who need to be front and center. They don’t need a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition">“unique selling proposition”</a> – they need to communicate what they know, demonstrate how much they care, and, by implication, how reliable their outcomes are. </p>
<p>Do you agree? What firms do this well in your opinion? Can your firm better showcase its wisdom without becoming pedantic?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>To reach Abby:</strong></p>
<p>Phone: 212.840.0088<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:abby@blisspr.com">abby@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/abbycarr">@abbycarr<br />
</a>LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/abbycarr" target="_blank">Abby Carr</a></p>


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		<title>Don’t sound like your mother: How to engage in online conversations</title>
		<link>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/don%e2%80%99t-sound-like-your-mother-how-to-engage-in-online-conversations/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/don%e2%80%99t-sound-like-your-mother-how-to-engage-in-online-conversations/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:47:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Sosnow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.blisspr.com/?p=1575</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As the mother of three, I spend a considerable amount of time begging or demanding that someone to listen to me.  ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As a mother of three, I spend a considerable amount of time begging or demanding that someone listen to me. </p>
<p>Most times, it doesn’t happen. On the rare occasions when it does, I quickly fling my plea and/or directive into the void, hoping it will stick somewhere. Realistically, I know I have a limited<img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1583" title="untitleda" src="http://blog.blisspr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/untitleda1.JPG" alt="untitleda" width="150" height="100" /> window until the light saber or juice box beats me.</p>
<p>Lately I’ve seen some familiar nagging invade my online communities. We all love our mothers, but let’s reconsider if it makes sense to sound like them online. Here are a few common conversational gambits you may recognize:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">You’re going to wear *that* to school?</span> Pre-judgments are rarely correct, but we human beings enjoy flogging stereotypes anyway. Stop pretending you know how people will act and <a href="http://pauldunay.com/4-cs-of-b2-marketing/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BuzzMarketingForTechnology+%28Buzz+Marketing+for+Technology%29">start listening to what they are really saying</a>. (There are plenty of free tools to get you started, from old fashioned Google Alerts to Facebook Conversation Monitoring to Backtype.)</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Don’t play with scissors, you’ll lose an eye</span>: Does your thought leadership strategy rely on the power of fear? Fright is a powerful motivator for almost any audience, but I don’t think most folks will enter into a lasting relationship if they feel scared. If you describe a major risk, you’ll get an initial bump in attention, but it’s unlikely to last. </li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">If you don’t finish your homework, you are grounded</span>: Limited offers and repeated push emails with deadlines start to feel like empty and annoying threats. If people chose not to respond to your poll, quiz or survey the first time, don’t expect the third and fourth requests to change the situation.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">You need to clean your plate!</span> I’ll admit to saying this one to my kids on more than one occasion. But the B2B social media communities I participate in appreciate restraint. Instead of an “all you can eat” strategy, design programs that offer “a la carte” calls to action that allow your user to make choices. Subscribe to blog? Download white paper? Lead generation form? Let them follow the path that makes sense to them.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">I’m going to pull the car off at the next exit if you two don’t stop bickering</span>: Rodney King identified an essential human problem – we can’t all get along. So don’t try to market that way. Your audience is actually composed of many sub-sets, so cater to those niches. If you are a management consulting firm that focuses on M&amp;A, <a href="http://blog.blisspr.com/uncategorized/six-tips-to-jumpstart-your-thought-leadership/#content">create content</a> that reaches high potential target industry prospects. Don’t just settle for a strategy to activate “the c-suite.”</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">We’ll be there in an hour</span>: Don’t tell white lies. Not only will you be caught, but people will remember it. And for those that don’t, a simple Bing search will remind them. So if you announce a launch date, stick to it. If you offer a prize to the winner, deliver it in a timely manner.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cleanliness is godliness (as she pulls out the white glove):</span> Social media strategies are messy &#8211; get over it! Best practices are constantly changing, as are the applications and tools we use to execute. It’s really a never ending “test and learn” process. <a href="http://ow.ly/YE9d">Failures are actually the “secret sauce” for success.</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>As a marketer, do you speak to your clients, customers or prospects like a harried parent? Or do you take the time to listen to their cares and concerns, to reach out to them <span style="text-decoration: underline;">before</span> you need something?</p>
<p>Tomorrow I’ll share my own recipe for successful engagement. Until then, have you “heard” your “Mother” online recently? What kinds of things did “she” say? (share it the comments…don’t make me come find you!)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>To reach Elizabeth:</strong></p>
<p>Phone: 212.840.0017<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:elizabeth@blisspr.com">elizabeth@blisspr.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethsosnow">@elizabethsosnow</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsosnow">Elizabeth Sosnow</a></p>


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